The lung balloons drew attention to the lung cancer awareness exhibit also set up near the entrance.

While lung cancer remains exceptionally deadly, more than 80 percent of lung cancers have a chance to be cured if detected early, according to information provided by UnityPoint Health.

The need for that early detection was emphasized Wednesday.

There is a scan that can detect lung cancer when it is small. For some people, it is a kind of cancer screening that should be as routine as a colonoscopy or mammogram, according to Jenny Condon, a nurse practitioner with UnityPoint Health – Pulmonology.

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
A pair of pig lungs on display Wednesday afternoon in the front lobby of UnityPoint Health — Trinity Regional Medical Center graphically show the devastation caused by lung cancer. The lung on the left is healthy. The one on the right is cancerous. They were part of an informational exhibit on lung cancer and the new screening test being offered to smokers.

“Early detection is key,” she said.

But only about 20 percent of eligible people receive the screening, she said.

The annual screening is for people between the ages of 50 and 80 who smoke or who have quit smoking within the past 15 years.

An order for it must be issued by the person’s primary care provider.

The test is called a low dose CT scan. Condon said it can identify lung cancer in its earliest stages.

She said the test takes five minutes and is painless. She said it uses a low amount of radiation. No IV is required for the test, she added.

Smoking is the biggest cause of lung cancer. But quitting smoking remains one of the most difficult things some people will ever do, according to Condon.

Some smokers fear that they will lose something if they quit, she said. For example, she said, they might feel they will never be able to enjoy their morning coffee if they don’t have a cigarette with it.

Condon said the reality is that by quitting smoking they gain a lot and lose nothing.

“You’re not quitting anything,” she said. “You’re gaining. You’re gaining freedom. You’re gaining self-confidence. You’re gaining your future health.”

“They are going to gain so much more back,” she added.

There are many programs available to help people stop smoking, according to Condon.

She does not recommend switching from smoking to vaping. Doing that, she said, is “trading one problem for another.”

The benefits of kicking the smoking habit can be felt pretty quickly. According to information provided Wednesday, within 20 minutes of that last smoke, blood pressure and pulse rate go down. The senses of taste and smell improve within days. Lung function improves within three months.

In Iowa, people are exposed to another cause of lung cancer: radon. Condon said radon is an odorless, tasteless, invisible gas created by the breakdown of uranium in the soil. She said it seeps into buildings through foundations and sump pumps.

“There’s no safe level of radon,” she said.

“In Iowa, it’s not a question of if you have radon, it’s a question of how much you have,” she added.

Radon test kits can be purchased at stores that sell home improvement products. There are contractors that do radon mitigation work.